


Time Bomb

by HazAndNi



Category: All Time Low, One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-12-17
Packaged: 2017-11-21 09:21:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/596091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazAndNi/pseuds/HazAndNi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parker York is a Directioner by every definition. She’s seen them live, she’s watched all the video diaries, she voted for them a million times on X-Factor, she knows all the Directioner insiders, and she knows every word to all their songs. But Parker is different from other Directioners. How? The a famous singer/songwriter and the new It Girl of the moment. </p><p>Niall Horan has always had a huge fan of Parker’s, ever since she was on American Idol when she was 16. He’s bought all of her albums, has posters of her up on his walls, and has a massive crush on her. He’s also in the world famous boy band One Direction.</p><p>When Parker and Niall meet by chance, will their celebrity crush turn into a love affair to remember? Or will famous ex’s tear them apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End Is The Beginning

Parker’s POV

“So Parker, lets talk boys. How are things with you and Nathan Sykes? We saw some pictures of you two getting quite cozy in Chicago recently. Are you two still together?” I stare at the man in front of me, Ryan Secrest (yes THE Ryan Secrest).How many times am I going to have to answer this question today? You’d think that all these interviewers would have some super special ESP or something so that they could stop asking me the same fucking questions over and over. And I would think that Secrest of ALL people in the world would already know the answer to this particular question. In truth, the pictures he’s talking about are probably two weeks old and I know for a fact that he’d talked to Nate since they came out. But I put on my best fake smile, none the less and answer as politely as possible.

“Actually Ryan, Nate and I are no longer together. It was all very civil you know. Just busy with other things. He’s recording in L.A. As I’m sure you know and I’m gonna be here in London recording for most of the year.” I say cheerfully. Lies.

“Oh so sorry to hear that. Are you guys at least still friends?” Ryan asks me sadly.

“Oh yeah of course. I adore Nate you know. He’s a great guy and a great friend. It was definitely a mutual thing.” More lies.

“Well that’s wonderful to hear. And I don’t know about all out viewers but I know I’m hoping for a happy reunion once you guys are both done recording. Well that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you so much Parker for stopping in to see us and we wish you the best of luck recording your new album.” He shoots me a smile so fake, I can tell he saw right through me.

“Thanks for having me, Ryan.” I smile back. He turns to face the camera and I hear a familiar track being cued up behind us.

“And we’ll leave you with this tonight, it’s the most recent single off of their debut album Up All Night. It’s One Direction with More Than This.” And with that the cameras shut off. I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to see Ryan eying me suspiciously. Shit. “Are you alright Parker?” He asks me. I nod furiously. Ryan and I have been close for a long time, and I know that I can tell him anything, but this is the last thing I want to talk about. The truth is, my break up with Nate was in no way shape of form civil. In fact it was extremely volatile, much like our relationship. Nate and I had been together for about 2 years. It started out great. He was sweet and romantic and I fell really fast. He always took me out on cute little dates and opened doors for me. He never pushed me into anything and he was the most respectful person I had ever met in my life. My mother loved him and my father treated him like the son he never had. By the time we had been together for 6 months, my mom was already planning our wedding. But then everything started going horribly wrong. See when we met and started dating in early 2010, I was 16 and he was 17 and both of our careers were literally just getting started. As both of us got more popular, we started reacting to fame in different ways. As soon as Nate turned 18 he wanted to say out all hours of the night, drinking and partying with his band mates and soaking up all the attention he was getting. I, on the other hand, was busy flying back and forth between London, where I was recording my debut album, and Chicago where my family had moved when I was 8. I didn't like to party all that much and I was so wrapped up in writing. Our relationship started falling apart pretty fast. We were constantly fighting: screaming and yelling and breaking things all the time. He started pushing me for sex even though he knew that I wasn't ready and would get violent when he wouldn't get his way. We both fell apart along with the relationship, too. Nate was always drunk and ended up in rehab a few times. I started cutting and tried to kill myself twice. My parents were blissfully unaware that anything was wrong with us and continued to treat Nate with every ounce of respect they possessed. And we continued to stay together. Because honestly, through all the screaming and fighting and alcohol and depression, I loved Nate with everything in me and he loved me too. But then it all broke. Two weeks ago we had gone out for a really nice dinner, just the two of us. It had all been really sweet and romantic, a lot like the beginning of our relationship. He had just gotten out of a really great rehab program in LA where the band was staying and had promised me that he was turning his life around and we were going to get married and we spent the whole time at the restaurant cuddling and kissing and just generally being in love. I told him afterward that he should go out and spend some time with the boys and that I would be fine to stay at his place by myself as long as he promised not to be out late. That night I ended up crying myself to sleep. He came home the next morning and we ended up getting into the worst fight we’d ever had. He screamed in my face for hours, calling me names, pushing me around, kicking me and punching me over and over. Finally, after what seemed like years, Max, who was sharing an apartment with Nate since he and his fiance had split, came in and pulled Nate off of me. And that was the last time I saw him. We had texted a few times since, mostly him calling me names or begging for me to come back. I vehemently refused, telling him that I never wanted to see him again, but that I would never ever tell the truth about what happened between us so that he could have his reputation and career. So now here I am in London, preparing to spend the next 6 months recording my second album, which would probably consist mainly of songs about me and Nate broken relationship. I had literally just flown in this morning and had not had a chance to get to my new apartment, having had not one, not two, but SIX interviews scheduled for the day. Thankfully, the Secrest interview is was the last and now that it’s over, all I want to do is go grab some Nandos take out and unpack. Hell I don’t even really want to unpack. “Look, remember what I told you when you won AI? I’m always here if you need someone to talk to. You have my number, use it if you need me.” I hear Ryan’s voice say, breaking into my thoughts. I smile up at him thankfully.

“I know Ry. I know. I’m just exhausted. I’m gonna get outta here. Gonna go see what my swanky new London apartment looks like.” I tell him with a laugh. I give him a tight hug and make my way out of the studio and down to the awaiting limo.

Thirty minute later, I’m standing in front of the door to my brand new apartment. All my stuff had been shipped over a few weeks ago and manager, Scotty, had his wife decorate it for me. I pull the key out of my pocket and just as I’m about to turn the knob to open the door, I hear a deep British voice call out from across the hall.

“Do you need help with those?” I whip around quickly to see the one and only Liam Payne, standing in a doorway a few doors down from my own. How come Scott didn’t tell me I was living across the hall from THE Liam Payne. I’m about ready to fangirl on him, but he beats me to it. “OH MY GOD! YOUR PARKER YORK! No way no way no way!” He squeals. “Dani! Zayn! Come here quick! Parker York is our new neighbor!” I let out a little laugh at his enthusiasm, but inside, I’m absolutely freaking out. Two more heads pop out of the doorway and I instantly recognize Liam’s gorgeous dancer girlfriend Danielle and the Bradford Bad Boi himself, Zayn Malik.

“Oh my god seriously!” Zayn yells, rushing out the door over to me. He looks down at me with wide eyes, looking like he’s about to faint. Liam comes up beside him quickly, holding a sharpie and a copy of my first album in his hands. When did he go and get that?

“Parker can you sign this for me? I’m a huge fan.” He sighs. I smile at him, taking the CD and sharpie from him.

“Yeah sure.” I say happily. I open the case, pull out the sleeve and write ‘Liam, thanks so much for all of your support. It really means a lot to me. Love you bunches! Parker York’ and hand it back to him.

“Boys! Leave the poor girl alone she looks exhausted.” Danielle snaps at them, coming up to join us in front of my door. “Sorry about them. They’re not very good with meeting celebrities.”

“Oh it’s OK. If Liam hadn’t gone all crazy fangirl on me I probably would have done the same to him so I get it.” I shoot a glance at Liam, who looks like he’s about to cry from excitement, or maybe pee himself. “If it’s not too much trouble, I think I might take you guys up on that offer for help, though. These bags are really heavy.” I say to the two boys. They stare at me like I’m an alien for another minute before Danielle clears her throat loudly and snaps them out of it.

“Liam! Zayn! Grab the girls bags and help her inside!” She says, poking them both in the side. Her and I share a look and laugh as the boys pick up my bags. I open the door quickly and walk inside in total awe. I had no idea what this place was going to look like, and I have to say it’s better than I imagined. There was a long hallway leading into the living room which was painted black with white vertical stripes, a plush black couch with white throw pillows up against one wall across from a 50” plasma TV and shelves upon shelves of movies and books, and a white coffee table sitting in front of the couch.

“Where would you like us to set these?” Zayn asks me curiously.

“Oh you can just put them up against the wall in the hall or something.” I say as I stroll into the large, deep red painted kitchen. The appliances are stainless steel and brand new. I begin opening all the cupboards and the fridge to see if there’s food and sure enough, everything is fully stocked with all of my favorite things, plus a bunch of healthy stuff. Obviously Scott let my trainer help him with the grocery shopping. “Would you guys like to stay for dinner?” I ask them all. My stomach was rumbling loudly. I had begged Scott to make the driver stop at Nandos like I wanted but he just laughed and told me I had plenty of stuff at home. I watched as Liam and Zayn’s eyes practically bulge out of their heads while Liam was nodding furiously. Danielle and I both laugh at them and I set to work trying to find something to make. The two boys walk back out into the living room while Danielle stays behind in the kitchen with me.

“OK I’m sorry but I’m gonna have a little fan girl moment on you right now. I cannot believe that you’re here living on the same floor as the boys. This is so awesome. Eleanor is gonna flip when I tell her. She’s obsessed with you.” she says. I laugh again. I really like this girl. We’re obviously going to be friends.

Niall’s POV

“Hey Nialler! I think you just got a text baby.” My girlfriend Demi calls out to me from the bedroom of her hotel room. I’m currently standing in the bathroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror, trying to prep myself for what I’m about to do. Demi and I have been together secretly for a few months. It was both of our ideas to keep it secret, and we’ve done a pretty good job of it up until now. Now I want quit hiding. I wouldn’t say I’m in love with her or anything, but I do like her a whole lot and I hate not being able to go out with her in public. I walk slowly out of the bathroom and plop myself down on her bed, watching her as she spins around in the desk chair, her eyes trained on the TV. I grab my phone off the nightstand and unlock it to find a text from Liam.

Daddy Direction: Nialler you are NEVER going to believe who moved into the flat next to Lou and Hazza

Me: Who?

Daddy Direction: PARKER FREAKING YORK!

My eyes widen as I read his response. Parker York had been my celebrity crush for two years. Obviously I would NEVER tell Demi that but it’s true.

“What are you smiling about?” Demi asks me curiously. “Who was that?” I sense a little bit of jealousy in her tone and roll my eyes. She always gets like this and it’s incredibly annoying. Maybe if we went public she would stop thinking that I’m constantly flirting with other girls.

“Oh It’s Liam. Apparently Parker York moved into the empty flat next door to Harry and Louis. Cool, yeah?” Demi just rolls her eyes at this.

“Ugh that girl is so annoying. She’s not even that good.” She snaps.

“Dem what are you talking about her voice is phenomenal. She WON that American Idol show. And she won singing one of your songs remember?” I ask. She just lets out a snort and raises an eyebrow.

“Wow Ni, sounds like you have a crush on her.” She says crossly.

“What? No. Why do you always do that?” I snap back.

“Well you sure are defending her pretty ruthlessly.” she yells. I sigh, pushing myself up off the bed. I walk over to her and try to wrap my arms around her but she just pushes me away.

“Don’t Niall. Just stop.” She says.

“Demi seriously? Come on. Look I didn’t come over here to fight with you. I came over here to talk about us going public with our relationship. I care about you so much Dem. I just want everyone to know that we’re together. I’m sick of hiding it.” I tell her. She shoves me away again.

“Niall I thought we went over this. We can’t tell anyone. No one can know that we’re together Ni. Got it?”

“Why?” This is really confusing me. It almost feels like she’s hiding me and I hate that. I’m insecure enough as it is, without her being ashamed of our relationship.

“We just can’t.” she finally says after a few minutes. “Look can we just watch a movie or something?” I feel a frown spread across my face.

“No. Demi I can’t do this anymore. This whole secret is killing me. I don’t understand why you’re so ashamed of me and our relationship but if you’re not willing to tell the world about us, then there shouldn’t be an us anymore.” I snap. And with that, I storm out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind me as hard as I can. Welp. That went well.


	2. My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make you all aware, the song Parker sings in this chapter is called My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon and it's by Fall Out Boy. I DO NOT OWN THIS SONG. It's one of my favorites though and I think everyone should go check it out.

Parker's POV  
“Parker Fucking York. You better get your skinny little lazy ass to the studio right now or I’m gonna fucking kill you. You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Where the fuck are you!” Well Scott's obviously not in a good mood. Excellent. Today should be a fun day. I shake my head, my iPhone pressed lazily to my ear as I pull open the door to the building that the studio is in.  
“Take a fucking chill pill Scotty boy. I'm headed up right now. And for the record, it might be easier for me to get to places on time if I had a damn car.” I say with a small chuckle. I make my way over to the open door of the elevator and step inside. “Hey Scotty, what floor are we on?” I hear him let out an frustrated sigh, meaning he's already told me probably a million times and I just haven't been paying attention. In my defense, I actually do have an excuse. Three actually, if you really want to know. First of all, Scott likes to try to tell me things first thing in the morning. And to be quite honest with you, I’m pretty much the most useless person in the world before I’ve had my morning coffee. Considering the fact that he's been my manager since I won American Idol two years ago and the fact that he's known me my whole life you'd think he would get that by now. This brings me to my next excuse. It's entirely possible that he told me while I was hungry. Because everyone who knows me knows that you can't talk to me when I’m hungry because I just don't care about anything else but food. And on top of all this, I have the worst ADD in the history of mankind. So in actuality, telling me anything at all is pretty damn useless because I’m either not going to remember or I’m just not really listening.  
“Five, Parks. Just get your ass up here. I've got a little surprise for you.” He huffs at me.  
“Alright alright. I'm coming. Can you get me some coffee though? Whatever that shit is that you bought me fucking sucks.” I ask as I push the small five button and the doors close.  
“Parker, watch your mouth please.” He tells me with a laugh, despite the fact that he knows it's completely useless. Fucking hypocrite.  
“You're one to talk.” I laugh at him. I hear a loud beep informing me that he's already hung up on me as the elevator comes to a stop. I step out of the opening doors and see Scott standing in the hallway. He's leaning up against the wall, his black hair messy and sticking up at random angles, just the way he always wears it. He's dressed down, per usual, in just a white t-shirt and black skinny jeans and a black jacket, dirty chuck taylors on his feet. Thank god he stopped wearing that that ridiculous black eyeliner he used to wear when he was younger. He's actually quite attractive, if I’m being honest, and when I was a kid, I used to have a massive crush on him, which is kind of awkward since he'd known me since the day I was born. His parents and my parents have been best friends since they were in high school. They're like my second family and Scotty and I have always been really close despite our nearly 8 year age difference. I'm an only child so he's always been like my brother.  
“About fucking time, kid.” he snaps when he sees me, but pulls me into a tight hug anyways. I shake my head at him. He's so god damn impatient.  
“I'm here now, don't give yourself a fucking aneurism bro.” I tease him. He opens the door to the studio we're in and shoves me through he doorway roughly.  
“You know, Parks sometimes I really just hate everything about you.” he mumbles. I turn to him, smiling wide and his face falls, knowing what I’m about to do.  
“IT'S EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU YOU YOU! THE WAY YOU MAKE IT FEEL NEW NEW NEW! LIKE EVERY PARTY IS JUST US TWO AND THERE'S NOTHING I COULD POINT TOO!” He slaps his hand over my mouth to shut me up, just like always, and I poke my tongue out and lick it, just like always. He pulls his hand away, a look of disgust settling itself on his face, and wipes it on his jeans. I really don't know why he's so surprised. This literally happens every single time. I just let out a small laugh as I push my nerdy black glasses up the bridge of my nose. Part of the reason I was late this morning was because I ran out of contacts and had to search through all of my boxes to find these god forsaken things. And not I feel like the biggest nerd on the planet. But I was keeping it casual today anyways, dressed in a loose white v-neck and ripped up black skinny jeans with a gray beanie on my head, covering the fact that my dark brown hair was an absolute mess, so I guess it didn't really matter whether I was wearing the glasses or not. I'm not here to impress anyone anyways, right? I toss my arm around Scott shoulder lazily. “So where's my coffee? And my surprise?”  
“Stace is on her way and I told her to pick you up Starbucks. She'll be here in 5. And you're surprise should be walking in any minute.” he tells me.  
“So it's a person?” He nods, confirming my theory. I toss myself down onto the black couch settled behind the mixing board and call out a quick hello to my god of a producer, Patrick Stump. Yes. The one and only Patrick Stump, musical genius and my absolute idol, is producing my new record. It's crazy, really, how I managed to snag this guy. I had quite literally run into him at a Starbucks in Chicago three months ago. I may or may not have freaked out a little, Fall Out Boy was my favorite band growing up, and he confessed to being a huge fan of mine too. Apparently he had voted for me relentlessly while I was on idol. So we spent the next two hours in a conversation in which I sheepishly admitted that I listened to Soul Punk on repeat for six months straight, and somehow the subject of my new album came up. He had initiated the conversation and then practically begged me to let him produce. There was no way in hell I was going to turn that down.   
“Hey Parker.” he greets me from his spot across from me, strumming out a tune on a guitar that I immediately recognize as mine. Scott must have brought for me. I'll have to remember to thank him considering I absolutely panicked when I realized that I’d left it back in Chicago.   
“Whatcha playing?” I ask Patrick.  
“Nothin really. Just messing around.” he says as he hands me the instrument. I instinctively start strumming out chords to the song that's been stuck in my head all morning. Suddenly, I feel my phone vibrate and I pull it out of my pocket and check the new text.  
Nate: Just saw the Seacrest interview. Thanks, babe.  
It's the 10th time he's texted me this morning and I haven't responded to any of them. I just can't do it. I love him more than anything, but what happened between us was so not OK.   
“You OK?” Patrick asks me softly. I nod and go back to playing, a new song popping into my head that fits the moment just a little bit more.  
“forgive me for this.” I say to him quietly before launching into one of my favorite Fall Out Boy songs. He laughs at my apology and sits back to listen to me sing.  
“Spent most of last night dragging this lake  
For the corpses of all my past mistakes  
sell me out, the jokes on you   
we are salt and you are the wound

empty another bottle and let me tear you to pieces  
this is me wishing you into the worst situations  
I’m the kinda kid that can't let anything go  
But you wouldn't know a good thing if it came up and slit your throat

you're remorse hasn't fallen on deaf ears  
rather ones that just don't care  
cause I know that you're in between arms somewhere  
next to heartbeats where you shouldn't dare sleep  
now I’ll teach you a lesson for keeping secrets from me

take your taste back  
peel back your skin  
and try to forget how it feels inside  
you should try saying no once in a while  
oh once in a while  
take your taste back  
peel back your skin  
and try to forget how it feels inside  
you should try saying no once in a while  
oh once in a while

And did you hear the news  
I could dissect you and gut you on this stage  
not as eloquent as I may have imagined  
but it will get the job done, you're done

every line is plotter and designed  
to leave you standing on your bedroom windows ledge  
and everyone else that it hits, that it gets to  
is nothing more than collateral damage

take your taste back  
peel back your skin  
and try to forget how it feels inside  
you should try saying no once in a while  
oh once in a while  
take your taste back  
peel back your skin  
and try to forget how it feels inside  
you should try saying no once in a while  
oh once in a while

The sound of clapping fills my ears and I turn myself to face the door as I set the guitar down in the space next to me on the couch. What I see there throws me for a god damn loop. Alex Fucking Gaskarth.  
“ALEX!” I scream, jumping up off the couch and launching myself into the tall blonde boy's arms. He laughs, hugging me tightly to his body before setting me gently back on my feet and kissing my forehead.  
“How are you boo?” he asks me curiously, keeping his arms around me.  
“Good I guess. A little heart broken, a little jet lagged, but good none the less.” It's the most honest I’ve been about my feelings in days.  
“Well he's a mother fucking shit head for letting you go.” he tells me honestly.   
“No wonder she has such a filthy mouth Alex. Jesus.” Scott scolds him. Alex and I both pull a face at him, sticking our tongues out and rolling our eyes.   
“Hey Trick!” Alex shouts as he notices Patrick in the room, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet for a bro hug. “So Parks, got some fucking great news for ya.” he says when he turns back to me, taking my hand and pulling me down to sit next to him on the couch.  
“And that is....” I ask impatiently. If I know Alex, he's going to take his sweet ass time to tell me. He always does.   
“Now now Parker dear...”  
“ALEX!” I shout. “Just fucking tell me before I kick your scrawny ass please.”  
“'Actors' is yours.” he says simply. I stare at him in shock. For anyone who doesn’t' know, 'Actors' is a song that Alex's band, All Time Low, wrote and recorded a year and a half ago but never officially released. It was supposed to be on their last album, Dirty Work, but it didn't end up making the cut. Alex had posted it on his blog and people went nuts over it. And it was probably on one of the greatest songs he's ever written.  
“Shut the fuck up! Are you serious!”  
“Yeah you little fucker. I know how much you love it. You know it's not gonna end up on our next record. So take it.” He tells me with a laugh. I launch myself forward, throwing my body on him and hugging him tightly around the neck.  
“OH MY GOD ALEX THANK YOU!” I scream. He tries his hardest to pry my arms away from him, but I'm too excited. I've been begging him to let me record this song since the day I heard it.  
“Parker.... can't..... Breathe.....” he chokes out. I finally let him go, because obviously I don't want to kill him considering he IS my best friend.  
“You are the best friend a girl could ever ask for, Lex.” I say sweetly.   
“Hey Parker. Stace is here.” Scott calls from the hall. I hadn't even noticed that he left. I hop up and run out the door to find Stacey, Scott's wife, standing there holding Starbucks cup out for me.  
“Oh God Stace you're my fucking hero!” I groan, taking the warm cup from her and smelling it. Cinnamon Dulce Latte. Perfect. Could life get any sweeter right now? 

Niall's POV  
“Guys I do I HAVE to be here? I honestly just want to go home and sleep.” I groan from my spot in the back of the lift. Why the boys insist on pushing me to the back of these things is beyond me. It fucking freaks me out and they know it.  
“Yes Niall. For the last time you DO have to be here today seeing as most of what we're recording are YOUR solos.” Liam clucks at me impatiently. I've been complaining all morning and I know that he's getting frustrated with me. Honestly, though, I’m not quite sure that I care. I'm pretty depressed over what happened last night with Demi. The boys were all sympathetic when I told them, but I’ve been so moody since I got home from her hotel last night, that the sympathy wore off pretty fast. After what feels like hours, the doors to the lift open and we all pile into the hall and I reach up to pull my black snapback low onto my forehead.  
“No. Fucking. Way.” I hear Louis mumble under his breath.  
“Oh my god, hey Liam! Hey Zayn! What are you guys doing here?” I know that voice from somewhere. I know that I do. I look up and see the girl of my god damn dreams standing in the middle of the hall, clutching a Starbucks cup in one hand and giving Zayn an awkward one armed hug to avoid spilling whatever she's drinking. Parker York. My breath hitches in my throat. God she's even more gorgeous in person. I feel my palms start to sweat as I hear Liam start to introduce us all to her.  
“.....And this is Niall.” he says, pointing at me. She shoots me a sweet smile and I just nod at her, not trusting my voice. Her smile fades quickly. Wow, I must look ridiculous today. Harry discreetly elbows me hard in the ribs and I yelp.  
“Um. Hi.” I finally choke out. Not the smoothest greeting, but at least I'm not just starting at her. Her face lights up in the brightest, toothiest smile I’ve ever seen in my life and my heart rate speeds up to a dangerous level.  
“It's so nice to meet you guys.” she tells us happily. “I'm kinda a huge Directioner so this is pretty freaking sweet for me.”  
“Parker we really need to get crackin. You really should be in there writing.” the stalky, tattooed man standing next to her says. She turns to him, pouting, but reluctantly follows him through the door across the hall from where we are recording.  
“Sorry guys. Wish I could stay and chat but gotta get to work. I'll talk to you guys later?” she says as she pops her head back out the door.  
“Yeah actually, Louis and I are having a little party tonight in our flat. Nothing big, just a few friends. You should come if you're not doing anything.” Harry tells her. A party? When did this happen? God no one tells me anything anymore. I notice her eyes flicker over to me quickly before resting on harry.  
“Yeah absolutely. But can I bring my best friend Alex? He's in town for a few days and he's really awesome.” she asks him hopefully. A tall skinny blonde boy pops his head our right above hers in the doorway.  
“Alex do what?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. Harry grabs hold of my arm, digging his nails into my skin, and I feel him tense up beside me. What the hell is wrong with him?  
“Party.” Parker says to the boy, who I’m now assuming is Alex.  
“Oh Yay! That sounds like buckets for fun! Am I invited.” All eyes are now on Harry, who's eyes are locked on the two standing in the doorway. He nods furiously, gulping nervously, and both sets of eyes light up.   
“Awesome. I'll see you guys tonight then. Have fun.” Parker says with a wave and then shuts the door behind her and Alex, and Harry finally lets go of my arm, relaxing. Weird.  
“Nialler, I think you might have an admirer.” Louis whispers to me as we walk into our own studio. I shake my head, laughing at him. There's no way in hell that the hottest girl on the planet is attracted to me.  
“Right Lou. You're real funny.” I snort.  
“I'm serious Nialler. You better go after her.” he shoots back.  
“Yeah, cause if you don't snog her, I will.” Harry threatens. I shoot him a glare and he jumps behind Zayn to hide from me. “Kidding. Kidding. She's hot, mate, but she's not really my type.” With that we all burst out laughing.  
“Hazza, she's exactly your type.” Louis says, eyeing him curiously. I have to admit, what he said was pretty odd. And the way he was just acting...... Harry just blushes and turns away, mumbling something under his breath, as he walks towards the booth and steps inside. Lou turns to me and leans in close to whisper something so the other boys can't hear. “Is it just me or does it seem like Haz is hiding something?”  
“I'm glad I’m not the only one who noticed.”  
“What do you suppose it is?” He asks me. He seems so concerned.  
“I don't know Lou, but I’m gonna find out.”


	3. I Like It Like That

Niall's POV  
“Niall. Niall. Niall. Nialler. Nialler. Nialler. Ni. Ni. Ni. Leprechaun. Leprechaun. Leprechaun.”   
“WHAT LOU!” I shout. Lou hasn't stopped trying to get my attention for 20 minutes. He's literally been repeating the same four words, well names really, over and over and over and I’m really starting to get fucking fed up.  
“How hot was Parker today?” he asks simply. I roll my eyes at him. He and I are currently sitting around the lounge of his flat while Liam and Zayn are out getting alcohol and food for Harry's spur of the moment party.   
“Fucking hot, Lou.” I say. It's true. She did look hot. And she was so sweet too. Not at all like Demi. It's funny really. People had this perception that Demi was a nice, down to earth, Texas girl, but they were wrong. Sure in the beginning of our relationship she was like that. That's what I really liked about her. But over time things changed. I started noticing that she became more and more of a diva. Parker didn't seem like she was like that, which was pretty cool.  
“Should we go talk to Harry?” he asks me. I nod and we both push ourselves off of the couches we were sitting on and make our way to Harry's room. He's sitting on his bed messing around with his bracelets, looking a little lost and deep in thought.  
“Hey Haz.” I say softly, catching his attention. “Is everything alright mate?” He looks at me, a dazed expression on his face, before shaking his head, not in response to my question, more to clear the deep thoughts obviously bouncing around underneath those curls.  
“Yeah. 'course. I'm great.” It's pretty clear to both Louis and I that he's lying. We give each other a knowing look before sitting down on either side of him. Louis pats his leg gently, while I take his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. This may seem odd to other people, how overly affectionate we are with each other. Most lads don't hold their best mate's hand, whether he seems upset or not. But the boys and I have always been this way. We cuddle and hold hands. We kiss each others cheeks and sit in each others laps. It's just how we are. We love each other. We're all so young and we're so far from our families, me especially, that we need each other, we need to be affectionate. We're all comfortable with each other. There's nothing romantic or sexual about it. We're just close. “You guys are going to think I’m a freak.” harry mutters under his breath. Louis shakes his head.  
“Haz you're our best friend. We already know you're a freak.” he chuckles. “But seriously, you know you can tell us anything.” Harry sighs and suddenly a thought strikes me. Alex. This has to be about him.  
“Hazza? Is this about that Alex guy?” I ask curiously. He sighs again, but nods.  
“Do you like him?” Louis asks, obviously thinking the same thing as me. Harry nods again.  
“Oh Haz! You really think that we're not going to like you just because you fancy a boy?” I let out a soft laugh as I pull the curly haired boy into my lap, holding tightly to my body. He's much taller than me, so this is a little uncomfortable, but we manage to make it work and he buries his face in my chest. Louis begins rubbing slow, soothing circles on his back.  
“It's not funny Niall! I've never liked a boy before. I'm really confused. It's just, I saw him today and he was cute and all I could think about was snogging him senseless. What the hell is wrong with me?” He sobs into my chest.   
“Hazzabear. It's OK. There's nothing wrong with the way you feel. And we love you just the same. He was quite attractive, for a guy, I mean. Not exactly my type, but you know, good looking none the less. And you never know, maybe he would like you too. You can find out tonight you know? He is coming over.” Louis says softly. Harry lets out a loud, bitter laugh.  
“Right Lou. I'm sure he'd totally be interested in a scrawny curly haired freak like me.” he scoffs. Lou and I roll our eyes.  
“How about this Hazza, Liam told me that Dani is going over to Parker's to hang out and get ready. Maybe she can talk to Parker and find out if Alex is into, you know, guys.” I say, trying to clam and comfort him.  
“Really Nialler? You think she would do that?” He asks me, head popping up, eyes wide with hope. I nod, laughing a little at his enthusiasm. “Well, I mean I guess that's cool.” he says, trying to sound way more cool than he had been acting.   
“And if he seems like he might be interested, you have to make a move. I don't care what it is or how you do it, you just have too.” I add. He puts his hand out for me to shake.  
“Deal. But I have a condition.” I look at him curiously. “If I have to make a move, so do you. On Parker, of course. Because if you even think of making a move on Alex, I’ll be forced to punch you in the face.” he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes, but shake his hand anyways. This ought to be interesting.

Parker's POV  
“PARKER! There's a curly haired girl at your door. Says she knows you. Should I let her in?” Alex screams at me from the living room. I roll my eyes. He's such a dork.  
“Yes Alex. That's Danielle. Now both of you get your asses in here. I need help finding something to wear.” I yell back. I'm currently standing in my closet, which by the way is massive, trying desperately to figure out what the hell I’m going to wear. The next thing I know, two skinny arms snake around my waist and I feel a chin resting on my shoulder.  
“Parks, you look great in anything. Don't think too much about it.” I hear Alex’s voice say softly into my ear.   
“But... But Niall, Alex.” I whine, turning around in his arms and pouting at him. Like I said before, Alex is my best friend and has been for a few years. We're 6 years apart, but we're extremely close and we have been since we've known each other. I met Alex and his band mates, Jack, Zack and Rian, back in 2007, when I was 15 and he was 21. I was a big All Time Low fan, and had gone to see them play a show. The night didn't exactly go that great, to be quite honest. I had gone with my best friend at the time, Maria and my boyfriend Jake, who was 16 and drove us there. I guess I hadn't noticed that Jake and Maria had been eyeing each other the whole night and they ended up leaving me stranded at the venue two hours from home. I had walked around for hours in the pouring rain trying to figure out how to get home, when I ran into the ATL guys. They took me onto their bus to warm up, gave me some food and some dry clothes and took me home. Despite the fact that we were all a few years apart, they were definitely on the same maturity level as me. They're such children all the time and I love it. Anyway, Alex, Jack and I bonded pretty quickly and exchanged numbers and we'd been friend ever since. Alex made constant trips out to Chicago to visit whenever he wasn't busy, and my parents absolutely adore him, treating him like he's their own son. I think most parents would be really weirded out, having some adult guy hanging out with their teenage daughter, but my parents are pretty cool and they could tell that Alex wasn't a creep, or even slightly interested in me at all. That was always Jack. Yeah, he wasn't my parents favorite.   
“Oh my god seriously! You like Niall! He's obsessed with you Parker!” Danielle sequels.  
“She's squeaky! Can we keep her!” Alex yells happily. Danielle just laughs, obviously used to odd behavior. We've been texting all day and from some of the stories she's told me about the boys, they can get just as crazy as the All Time Low boys. I was starting to think that bringing Alex with me tonight He could get a little out of control.  
“No but really. He's got posters of you on his bedroom wall. Oh wow. No I definitely shouldn't have told you that. That's weird.” Danielle says as she pulls out her phone. She eyes it curiously and then stuffs it back in her pocket, her eyes shifting up to Alex.   
“I have posters of him on my wall back home so it's really not that awkward. He's hot as hell. Nate and I used to get into huge fights about it. He hates them all. It's really weird.” I tell her. She rolls her eyes, still looking at Alex, as if she's trying to figure him out. He doesn't notice though and just makes his way further into my closet, obviously trying to find me something cool to wear.   
“OK I have to ask, since I don't think he can hear me right now, but is Alex possibly even the least bit interested in guys?” She asks me quietly in my ear.   
“Yeah, he's bi. Why?” What a weird question to ask. She pulls her phone back out and shows me a text she just got from Niall.  
Nialler: Objective- Find out if Alex likes Harry. Time to complete your mission- 2 hours. Good luck Agent Peazer..  
I can't help but laugh at him. Wow he's cute.  
“We'll let's find out shall we?” I whisper back to her before turning my attention back to my goofball of a best friend, who, by the way, is currently wearing one of my bras on the outside of his shirt. Harry Styles is interested in that? Good lord that boy has horrible taste in men.  
“Sooooo Dani, can I call you Dani? Of course I can, we're all friend here....” Danielle and I burst into a fit of giggles at him. He's such a dork. “Shut up assholes. Anyways. Parker talks about these Wand Erection boys all the time, but I really don't know anything about them. Are they dorks?”  
“Alex! It's One Direction. God you're such a weirdo!” I snap.  
“Whatever.” he rolls his eyes at me.  
“Well what do you want to know?” Dani asks him suspiciously.  
“I don't know what are they all about? I mean I hear about that freaking Niall kid all day long whenever I’m talking to Parks here, but I never hear anything else about them aside from their names and some weird thing about carrots. Oh and doesn't one of them love being naked?”  
“Ha. Yeah that's Harry.” Dani says  
“The curly one.” It's not a question, which means he already knew that. Which is kinda weird. I eye him curiously and his face turns a slight shade of pink.  
“Alex......”   
“What?”  
“How did you know that?” I ask.  
“I've seen pictures. Duh.” he tells me like it's the most obvious thing in the world.  
“OK sure Alex. Whatever you say.” I roll my eyes at him, not buying that excuse for even a second. He obviously thinks that Harry is hot. I walk back into my closet.  
“Parker, you should wear the Ramones shirt I got you. The torn up one, ya know? It's loose fitting and hot and it shows off your tattoos.” He calls after me. I pull the aforementioned shirt off a hanger and slip it on over my tank top. He's right. It's practically torn to shreds around the bottom and there's a rip in the back along the collar so that it hangs down off my shoulder, exposing the “Imagine” tattoo on my collar bone, my personal ode to the Beatles, and the “Believer's Never Die” tattoo on the back of my neck, one of my two Fall Out Boy Tattoos. I grab a pair of slouchy black skinny jeans and throw them on quickly before finding my favorite fedora, the one Scott got me for my 16th birthday, and placing it on top of my hair. “Damn girl!” Alex wolf whistles as I walk back into my room.   
“Shut the fuck up Alex.” I shoot him a glare and my way into the bathroom to put on a little bit of makeup, and then I’m ready to go. “Lets go daaaaaaarlings!” I call out from the living room. They make their way out and follow me out the door. I knock loudly on the door I know to be Harry and Louis, Alex standing right next to me, and Danielle going to get Liam from his own flat.   
“I'll see you guys in a few minutes.” she calls happily. Harry opens the door but as soon as he sees Alex, his face goes bright red and he slams it in our faces. I reach out for the doorknob with a laugh and twist it, letting myself in as Alex grumbles beside me.  
“Rude....” he huffs.  
“Maybe he's just nervous.” I whisper, poking his cheek. Everyone is gathered in the living room and I spot Harry and Niall immediately, whispering in the corner and shooting us odd looks. My eyes linger on Niall for a minute. He looks hot. He's wearing a plain white t shirt showing off his biceps and gray skinny jeans, his blonde hair a sexy mess on his head.   
“Pick your jaw up off the floor.” Alex whispers to me. I tear my eyes away from the blonde god and scan the rest of the room to see if I know anyone. There aren't that many people here, just the boys, minus Liam, Louis' girlfriend Eleanor, Olly Murs, Cher Lloyd, Ed Sheeran and Zayn's girlfriend Perrie. Aside from Eleanor and Perrie, I’ve met everyone here. Olly and I became friends when we toured together last year and he's pretty cool. I met Cher through Seacrest and Ed and I wrote a couple songs together for my first album. They all three walk over to me and greet me with hugs and hellos as Liam and Danielle walk in the door.  
“So we should play a game or something?” Zayn says, plopping down on the couch, beer in hand. Everyone in the room nods. “Dares?” again everyone nods. Liam grabs an empty bottle from the kitchen as we all sit down in a circle. “NOSE!” he shouts at the top of his lungs and for the first time in my entire life, I thank god for Jack Barakat. I would have absolutely no clue what Zayn was talking about had it not been for Jacks obsession with playing the nose game. You know that one. It's usually played to try to get out of doing something. Someone shouts “nose” and the last person to put their finger on their nose has to do whatever the thing is. So I make sure to quickly put my finger on my nose, as does everyone else in the room. Eleanor ends up being last because she's too distracted by the fact that I’m sitting next to her so she ends up getting the first dare.  
“OK, before we give El her dare, just for Parker and Alex's sake, here's the point of this game. El lost so she gets the first dare, obviously. Then she spins the bottle and whoever it lands on gets the next dare. Dares can literally be anything. We're all friend here. The only stipulation is this, if it's me, Liam, Zayn, El, Dani or Perrie, kissing is fine but it can't be actual snogging unless it's with our girlfriend or boyfriend, or the person is the same sex. Like Liam can kiss El but it has to be like a peck. Nothing more and nothing sexual. Single people, there are NO rules and boy on boy or girl on girl is fine.” Louis explains to us.  
“Got it.” Alex and I both say in unison, nodding.   
“Alright El. I love you babe, but you have to make out with Danielle.” Louis tells his girlfriend. She rolls her eyes and laughs before crawling over to Dani and pulling her in for a kiss. They go at it for a few minutes before breaking apart and sitting back down giggling. They must be tipsy already.  
“Hey Harry? Can you show me where the kitchen is?” I ask as El spins the bottle and it lands on Cher. He nods and stands up, taking my hand and pulling me up beside him. I follow him down the short hall into a large kitchen and open the fridge.  
“Everything in there is fair game and there's liquor in the cabinet over the stove.” he says before turning and walking back out. I grab a Stella and make my way back into the living room to find Cher hanging out the window screaming the lyrics to her song Want You Back at the top of her lungs. She finishes the chorus and then sits back down, spinning the bottle roughly. I take a long sip of my beer as the bottle lands on Alex. Danielle and I both look at each other and I’m about to shout out the dare that we are both thinking, but Niall beats me to it and I’m a little shocked.  
“I dare you to spend ten minutes in heaven with Harry.”


	4. Guts

Alex's POV (Yes he gets his own point of view because the things that go on in his brain are freaking awesome)  
That little Irish fucking weirdo! How could he have possibly guessed that I want to kiss the pants off the little curly haired kid. It's kind of awkward, honestly, he's a lot younger than me. I'm pretty sure Parker told me once or twice (or a million fucking times) that he's only 18 and I’m 25. But I don't know, something about those big green eyes just gets me. And those fucking hands! Damn. I laugh a small laugh, trying to seem unfazed, but I’m seriously freaking out inside. And I NEVER freak out. Like ever.  
“If I must.” I tease. I catch his eye and he looks terrified. What, does he really not want to? Am I not attractive enough for the great Harry Styles? Wow even his name is pretty sexy. Although Harry Gaskarth sounds way better. Wait no, I didn't just think that. Fuck. We both stand up and I follow him over to the hall closet. Niall comes too, obviously he'd going to try and lock us in. Not that I have a problem with that. I can do a lot of things in ten minutes. Niall opens the door and pushes us roughly in the closet and I make sure to shoot Harry a wink before the door closes because I a) want to see how he reacts to it and I know it's going to be dark once the door is shut and b)don't want him to be nervous. But from the wide eyed look on his face, I obviously didn't succeed in my second objective. Oh well. This is gonna be fun. As soon as the door shuts and I hear the lock turn I have Harry up against the wall. “Might as well make the most of our time together, young one.” I whisper seductively in his ear. I feel him shudder as my breath hits his neck and I laugh. In no time, my lips are on his. I'm actually pretty surprised by how soft they are and how much I enjoy being in this position. Harry's lips move in sync with mine, like a perfectly orchestrated dance and I can't help but let out a little moan as his arms snake around my waist and his tongue glides over my bottom lip. I open my mouth but quickly dart my tongue in his before he has a chance to do the same to me. I may or may not have some serious control issues when it comes to hooking up. He lets out a low moan and I feel myself harden. God that was hot. I'll be honest with you, I’m a bisexual, obviously, and I’m still into girls and all, but never in my life have I felt so turned on by a simple moan. And I’ve never been more physically attracted to someone as I am to this boy right now. I reach my hands up and grope around for the buttons to his plaid shirt, popping them open and running my hands down his chest and abs. I reach the waistband of his incredibly tight jeans undo that button to, but he pulls my hand away and then rips my shirt up over my head, breaking away from our kiss. I take the, albeit quick, opportunity to take in the sight of his toned muscles and lengthy torso. Fuck he's attractive. Like really really fucking attractive. I can't for the life of me figure out how someone can look like such a god. He takes my moment of weakness as his chance to turn us around so that now my back is pressed up against the wall and he's in control. Not cool bro. His lips immediately find my collarbone, landing smack on my soft spot, and I let out a moan. This feels so good. I feel him smirk against my skin and he sucks on the spot gently, but only long enough to tease the absolute fuck out of me. As soon as he thinks I’m hot for him enough, he moves that mouth of his, trailing kissed down my chest and abs right to the waistband of my pants. Fuuuuuuuuck. He pulls the tab with his teeth, popping the button open, and yanks the zipper down. It takes him a second to get my pants down. So I wear really tight jeans, sue me! I kind of just realized that we've only been in this closet for 3 minutes and that thought makes me realize how fast we're moving. Well, faster= rougher in my book and rougher always = hotter. Plus, I think we both know that if this takes us too long, when that door opens we could be caught in a pretty inappropriate position, which is also really hot. I look down at him and see him smirk up at me when he sees that I'm going commando. Nice one Alex! High five! **HighFiveSound** I feel his tongue trace along the slit and I can't hold back the loud moan. I throw my head back against the wall as he licks down along the vein on the underside of my shaft. Then I'm surrounded by a wet heat. I look back down and see his mouth wrapped around my cock, and it's truly the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. He's going really slow so I grab the back of his head, tangling my fingers in those soft curls. But I don't try to guide him. I don't want to force him and I’d feel bad if I, you know like choked him or something. That’s be awkward. I'm pretty sure he gets my hint though, because his pace suddenly increases his mouth slides further down on me every time he bobs his head. “Fuck Harry.” I groan. There's a huge part of me that is wondering if he's ever done this before and that kind of makes me jealous, but I get over it quickly as I feel myself twitch in his mouth. He must feel it too because he goes even faster and pretty soon, I’m releasing in his mouth. I look down at him and watch him as he swallows everything and then stands back up. “God that was hot.” I breath, grabbing his neck and pulling him back to kiss me. “where did you learn to do that?” I mumble against his lips. He chuckles before pulling away.  
“I don't know. I've never done that before.” he tells me. “I've never really liked a boy before.” he adds under his breath, cheeks turning bright red. I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him tightly against my body and he buries his face in my chest.   
“Well, it was pretty fucking amazing, kid.” I say honestly. I lift his chin up so that he's facing me and press my lips back to his reassuringly. He smiles into the kiss and we just stay like that. Kissing and holding each other until I hear the door open. Which is when I realize that I forgot to pull my pants up. Well crap.

Parker's POV  
“Let's leave them in there and go get some food. I'm starving and I'm sure little Nialler over here is too.” Liam says to the crowd of us standing in the living room. I'm sitting down on the couch next to Cher, Eleanor, and Danielle. Olly, Louis and Ed are standing at the closet door, ears pressed against it trying to hear what's going on inside. The rest of the group is standing in a circle in the hall. Louis tears his ear away from the door and glares at Liam.  
“But Li I wanna know what they're doing. It's pretty quiet in there but I swear I heard a few moans.” he pleads. Liam shoots him a glare and the girls and I all get up off the couch.  
“Lou come on.” Liam snaps. Louis and the other two nosy boys reluctantly follow our group out the door, but I stay back.  
“Hey I'm gonna stay back and wait for them. They should be out in a minute or two and I don't feel like leaving my poor best friend locked in a closet with the infamous Harry Styles.” I tell them with a laugh. Liam and Zayn laugh along with me.  
“Probably a good idea. Nialler, why don't you stay with her and you guys can all meet up with us in a bit.” Zayn agrees. Niall nods, his cheeks turning bright pink. What's that all about? We call out our goodbye's as everyone else walks out the door, leaving Niall and I standing alone in the hall. Awkward. OK so I'll be honest for a minute, I'm really wishing that one of the other boys had stayed behind, or maybe one of the girls. I feel so nervous around Niall. I've always had a crush on him and I’m feeling a little star struck right now. Ironic, huh?  
“Well. Time's up. We should let them out now I guess.” I say. Niall nods.  
“Yeah. I guess.” I turn the lock on the door and pull it open only to find Harry with his shirt hanging open and Alex shirt less with his pants around his ankles, making out. “AHHHHH” I scream and quickly shit the door. Niall looks at me like I’m absolutely insane before reaching for the door handle. “Niall, I’m warning you: Do. Not. Open. That. Door.” I beg him, but he doesn't listen and opens it anyways.  
“Holy Shit!” He yells, slamming the door. His blue eyes are wide and his cheeks are flushed the darkest shade of red I’ve ever seen in my life. I smirk at him.  
“Told you not to open it.” I say as our two best friend tumble out of the closet (HA!) now fully clothed.   
“Well that was just awkward.” Alex jokes. Harry quickly hides himself behind Alex, looking around to see if anyone else is here.  
“They all went out for food. Probably Nandos. You guys should all go. I think I’m gonna.... uh..... I think I lost my appetite.” Niall whispers awkwardly. Alex just nods at him, probably too embarrassed to say anything, and heads for the door, harry following close behind. I watch them intently as Alex reaches out and takes Harry’s hand, lacing their fingers together and smiling down at him.  
“Awwwww.” I coo quietly.  
“They do look pretty cute together don't they.” Niall agrees. “To be honest, I didn't really think Alex would go for that. I kinda thought maybe he was you're boyfriend or something.”  
“Ha! No. No boyfriend....... Um I mean, Alex isn't..... Um. I'm single. Alex is kinda like, I don't know, my twin or something.” I say awkwardly. I'm honestly expecting him to laugh at what a dork I am, but he only seems to catch one part of my sentence, smiling happy at me.  
“You're single?” he asks. I nod, my face heating up. “That's surprising, really. I mean I know that you just got our of a really long relationship and all but I figured some really cool guy would come along pretty quickly to catch your attention.” he says, before quickly adding “Wow that incredibly creepy didn't it?”  
“No it's OK. I'm used to it. You're the only cool guy getting any of my attention at the moment. Did I really just say that out loud?” What is wrong with me! He blushes furiously. It's insanely adorable how easy it is to get that pink shade on his pale cheeks.  
“Good to know.” he mumbles under his breath. He looks so cute standing there, cheeks flushed, blue eyes staring down at his shoes, that I really can't control myself. I reach out my own hand and grab his, smiling up at him as we follow Alex and Harry out the door.


	5. Let's Do It

Harry's POV  
Fuck seriously? We literally just got caught with out pants down. OK well Alex’s pants. And what the fuck just happened in there? I've never done that before and I’m honestly a little embarrassed. But I can't say I didn't kind of enjoy it. I've never really met anyone like Alex before. He's loud and outgoing and uncensored. Louis is like that, but Alex just takes it to a whole different level. My head is spinning. The way that he kissed me.....  
“Whatcha thinking about Styles?” I look up at him, my thoughts broken by the sound of his voice. His eyes are shining right now and I can't tell what the emotion is in them, but it makes my knees weak. What the hell. Who am I?  
“Erm... Uh... Nothing....” Great Harry. Just stutter like an idiot. That's a great way to get the guy. He laughs as he looks down at me, because unlike the rest of the lads, he's a little bit taller than me and I like that.  
“Dude, as fucking hot as that flustered look on your face is, you need to calm down before you give yourself a god damn heart attack.” he chuckles. I let out a long sigh, turning away from him and staring at the ground.  
“I'm just confused. And a little bit scared. I'm shit at relationships and until yesterday I thought I was straight.” I whisper. He squeezes my hand and stops walking, pulling me around to face him.   
“Look, I'm not good at shit like this. I had a girlfriend for a really long time, yeah, but she didn't fucking get it and I always felt like shit all the time. I've dicked around with a couple guys but never anything serious because frankly, relationships scare the hell out of me. I'm freaked out and confused too. Believe me. But I like you Styles. You're a cool kid and you're hot as fuck. You know what it's like to be in my position and not have a lot of time that's truly your own. Something that my ex didn't seem to comprehend at all. I know it's scary and I know that it's gonna be fucking hard as hell and we won't see each other a lot and girls are literally throwing themselves at your feet and that fucking makes me nervous as shit, but I wouldn't mind doing this with you if it's what you want. We can just try it and see how it goes. It can be as serious or as casual as you want. Whatever you're comfortable with, I don't care. I just want to be able to kiss you like that again.” I bite my lip at his words. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. I really do like him a lot and I can't say that I would mind having a relationship with him. I look back up at him with a grin and a nod.  
“Alright. Lets do it.” I say happily. He smiles down at me, taking my face in his hands and pressing his lips to mine.  
“Let's do it.” he whispers.

Parker's POV  
We're all walking back to the flats after dinner and everyone has split off into their own little groups since there are so many of us. All the couples, Liam and Danielle, Louis and Eleanor and Zayn and Perrie, are walking by themselves, holding hands, kissing, or just generally being really cute. Olly, Cher and Ed are all talking amongst each other and pointing at Harry and Alex, who I've just now noticed are walking hand in hand. I watch them for a few minutes. They're quite cute if I’m being completely honest. They'll walk in silence for a few feet and then Alex will lean down and kiss Harry’s nose or harry will look up and smile at him. It's pretty adorable. I look to my right, taking in the sight of Niall. He looks nervous, fiddling with his fingers and staring down at his shoes. It's making the butterflies in my stomach go crazy and I can't help but wonder if I’m the reason why he's feeling that way. I want to talk to him so bad, but I’m not sure what to say. I really don't want to sound like an idiot. It's been a long time since I’ve had feelings like this for anyone and the last time I did, I ended up getting my heart, as well as multiple bones, broken. But Niall isn't like Nate. He doesn't seem like the type to ever lay a hand on a woman. Before I even realize it, we're stopped in front of my door. I don't even remember getting into the elevator, I was so deep in thought. We're alone in the hall and he's shifting from side to side anxiously as he stares down at me, biting his lip.  
“Parker....” The sound of his Irish accent as he pronounces my name makes my knees weak. “Are you free tomorrow night?” My throat tightens up. Is he about to ask me out? OK breathe Parker. Just breathe. I swallow hard and nod, trying not to seem to eager. I watch as his bright blue eyes light up and it's the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. “Would you want to, maybe, have dinner with me?” I nod again, and I’m pretty sure he can see my heart exploding from the excitement. He smiles happily at me, biting his lip again. “Great! Um I mean... yeah that's cool. Uh I’ll erm.... I'll be here at six.” His cheeks are deep crimson red and I think it's probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in the entire world.  
“OK” I tell him with a smile.  
“Goodnight Parker.” he whispers softly.  
“Goodnight Niall. I'll see you tomorrow.” I shut the door and scream at the top of my lungs. Shit I really hope he wasn't standing right by the door when that happened. Alex comes running out of my bedroom in his boxers, wide eyed and holding a hockey stick high above his head.  
“What the fuck munchkin? Why are you fucking screaming?” he asks, lowering the stick to the floor.  
“Niall just asked me out on a date! He's taking me to dinner tomorrow night?” I squeal. He runs over to me and we start jumping up and down together. This is what I fucking love about Alex. He's such a dork. He really is the best friend a girl could ever have.  
“I have news too.” He says once we've calmed down a bit. I look at him expectantly. “Harry and I are going out tomorrow night too. And by going out I mean Stayin In.....Bed.” he says with a wink. I grab the throw pillow off of the couch and hit him in the face with it.   
“Ew Alex you're so gross!”  
“Ha! Shut the fuck up I could be worse. I could be Jack.” he laughs. I nod.   
“Good point.”


	6. Today Was A Fairytale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based off of the song Today Was A Fairytale by Taylor Swift. It was written pre-Haylor

“Parker. Parker! PARKER!!!” I hear Alex scream at me from the living room. Ughhhh what the hell does he even want right now. I only have a few minutes before Niall gets here to pick me up for our date and i’m kind of freaking out a little bit. It’s been a really long time dince i’ve been on a date.  
“WHAT!” I scream back at him.  
“Niall’s here to pi…… Whoa Parker you look really pretty.” I turn around to find him standing in the doorway, with a strange look in his eyes. He looks like my mother when I went out with Nate for the first time.  
“You’re kidding me right? Oh my god Alex i’m not ready for this. What if he wants to talk? Or like, kiss me? What the fuck do I do? Shit. Shit shit shit shit. Why couldn’t you have convinced Harry to ask Niall to double tonight?” I whine. Alex pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly.  
“Because then we wouldn’t be able to fuck each other as many times as we want.” he tells me, trying to sound soothing. I roll my eyes and push him off of me. “Parks, babe, it’s gonna be fine. You look beautiful and he’ll fall in love with you the second he sees you. Now get that cute little ass out of this bathroom and go on your date so I can go fuck that curly headed kid sensless on your couch.”  
“Alexander William Gaskarth if you have sex with him on my couch I will fucking kill you.” I snap as he pushes me out of the bathroom and into the living room. I look up to see Niall, gorgeous, beautiful Niall, standing by the front door dressed in a dark grey v-neck and black skinny jeans. He looks like an angel. “Hi.” I whisper as he looks up at me.  
“Hi. You ready?” he asks, cracking a smile so wide it looks like it might fall off his face. I nod, not trusting my voice and he leads me out the door.  
We walk for a while, our hands brushing against each other casually, not really talking but still comfortable with each other. Every once in awhile I’ll catch him sneaking glances at me. It’s quite cute. He makes my heart race when he does it. To be honest, I’m not really sure what he sees in me. Especially tonight. I’d spent hours trying to figure out what to wear, but unable to find anything remotly cute and ended up having to ask Alex to pick out a dress for me. I really liked the one he chose, it was a short (but not too short) white sundress. But other than the fact that my dress looks cute, I feel less than put together.  
“You look pretty.” He whisperes suddenly, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together. I bite my lip and look up at him, confused. Is he blind?  
“I look like a mess.” I say simply. He rolls his eyes, laughing at me. He’s actually laughing like he doesn’t believe me. He must be nuts.  
“How do you figure?” he asks.  
“I have no make up on, Alex had to pick out my dress because I couuldn’t decide what to wear, and my hair straightener broke this morning, thanks to Alex, so now my hairs all weird and wavy.” I complain. He gives my hand a gentle squeeze and gazes down at me with a strange look in his eyes.  
“You look pretty.” he repeats. I feel my cheeks heat up at his words. “You always look pretty.” He stops walking, looking up at the park we had made our way into. I didn’t even notice where we had been going until he stopped. I look around the park and notice a decent sized boat in the lake. There’s a blanket spread out inside of it with a basket. “I know it’s nothing fancy. We can go somewhere else if you want.” He shifts his weight back and forth between his feet like he thinks he’s done something wrong.  
“No. It’s perfect.” I tell him. It’s cute that he made such an effort to impress me and I really like the fact that he didn’t just take me to some cheesy expensive resteraunt. He took the time to do something romantic for me and it’s more than I could have asked for. He smiled down at me that silly smile that made me feel like I was in another world.  
“You really like it? It’s not much. I mean I know girls usually like to go to resteraunts and movies and things like that but I just thought it would be nice to be alone. It’s quiet here.” he blushes bright red and I can’t help but smile at how adorable he is.  
“I love it. Honest. You really didn’t have to do this.”  
“I wanted it to be special, though. You’re special.” I bite my lip at his words. It;s something that no one has ever said to me before. Niall is different than Nate, that’s for sure. Nate could be sweet and romantic, but it was usually only when he wanted soemthing out of me. Niall just seems to genuinly want to make me happy. He pulls me towards the boat, holding my waist as I step inside and once we’re both seated and comfortable, paddles us out into the muddle of the lake. It’s peaceful and quiet and way better than any other place I could possibly think of going on a date. “I have a confession to make.” he whispers as he sets the paddle down inside the boat. A nervous feeling settles in my stomach as I watch him shift around nervously. He looks up at me, a terrified look in his blue eyes, and bites his lip before speaking agaoin. “I, erm, I really want to kiss you, but I don’t want to scare you. Wow that sounds quite stupid doesn’t it? Did I just say that? Ugh shit I mean dammit! What’s wrong with me, I’m bloody awful at this….” I cut him of with a small giggle. His rambling is really cute and the way his cheeks are turning pink makes me want to kiss him even more.   
“Niall.” I say softly, letting my hand come to rest on his arm. His eyes grow wide as he looks up at me, still chewing on his lip. He looks perfect in the pale moonlight, the gray in his shirt contrasting with the pale white of his skin and his blonde hair messy, like he’d just rolled out of bed. “Please?” I ask quietly. He sighs softly, a relieved expression spreading across his face as he gently pulls me to his side of the boat and into his lap. His eyes flutter closed as he leans in to me and mine do the same, waiting patiently until I feel the soft pressure of his lips pressing against mine. Fireworks explode behind my eyelids the second our lips touch and I know on this moment, I’m right were I should be.  
Harry’s POV  
“So, what do you wanna do, pretty face?” Alex ask teasingly as he stands in the doorway of Louis’ and my flat. I roll my eyes at him and pull him inside. Louis is out with El on a double with Liam and Dani and then he’s planning on heading to Manchester with her for the night, lou likes the idea of fucking her while her roommate is asleep in the next bed, so we have the flat to ourselves. I know he probably wants to have sex, but I really just want to cuddle up and watch a movie. I like the idea of having him in my arms.  
“Can we just snuggle up and watch a film or something?” I ask nervously. I don’t understand what he sees in me. I’m quite boring and I know he’ll figure that out soon. I’m waiting for him to just laugh at me and leave but instead he smiles down at me softly and nods, slipping his hand into mine.  
“I like the sound of that, Styles.” He says. I can’t help but smile brightly at him as I lead him into the lounge and push him onto the couch. Once he’s seated I pop a movie into the DVD player and settle myself down next to him.   
“Love Actually? Really?” He says with a laugh and I feel my cheeks heat up.  
“It’s um, it’s my favorite movie.” I mutter under my breath. Great, now he thinks I’m a complete oaf. I brace myself for more laughter but it doesn’t come. What I get is his body pressing against mine and his head on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around him, squeezing tightly as I feel him sigh against me. For the first time on a long time, I feel content.


	7. We Are Never Getting Back Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so once again I want to say that I do not own either song in this chapter. I did use two Taylor Swift songs as Parker's own songs, but they are not her's because she doesn't really exist. Also, again, this was Pre-Haylor.

"Paaaaaaaaarker. Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaarker. Wake uuuuuuuuuuuuup. Open your eyeeeeeeeeees." I reach my hand out at the sound of Alex's voice and smack him repeatedly in what I hope is his face. "OW! Shit that's my nose! Stop! What are you doing?" He whines.  
"Looking for the snooze button." I groan. He laughs at me and grabs my shoulder, pulling me over to face him.  
"Sorry babycakes. No snooze button on this alarm." He teases. "Get up! It's coffee time. And then you need to tell me all about your date." A soft smile spreads across my face as I think about the previous night. It was, by far, the best date I've ever been on. I push myself up and climb out of bed, pulling on a pair of Alex's sweatpants that for some reason are lying on my bedroom floor. God that boy is messy. His clothes are literally everywhere and We've only been here for like three days.  
"Will you clean your shit up, ass face?" I grumble at him as he hands me a cup of fresh coffee. He slaps his hand over his chest, trying to look wounded by my name calling but I can tell he's forcing himself not to smile.  
"Parker Jade York! That's no way to speak to a guest. You should be ashamed of yourself! What would your mother say if she could hear you right now?" He scolds. Cocking an eyebrow at him, I give him a smug look.   
"She'd tell you to pick up your shit, ass face." He pouts at me, pushing his bottom lip out just a little bit past his top lip and I can't help but laugh at how much he looks like a cute little puppy. "I love you Leeeeeexie!" I coo at him and he reaches out an pushes me from my chair, causing me to spill my coffee all over the floor while he just stares down and smirks at me. "You suck Alex! Like big time."   
"Yeah but you loooooooove me!" He teases. We clean up the mess on the floor and he makes me a fresh cup of coffee. "So Parker pants.... Tell me all about it."    
"Oh my god Alex it was so perfect! He looked so cute and he took me to the park and we had a picnic in a boat and he kissed me." I sigh, my land wandering once again back to last night. It was like a fairy tale. "Alex, he's amazing. He called me pretty and he held my hand and I just..... I don't know it just felt like he really liked me. He's different than Nate, you know. Like with Nate, I never knew what mood I was going to get him in. Sometimes he was sweet and romantic and loving, but most of the time it just seemed like he was going through the motions. But with Niall, I don't know he's just different. He's like Prince Charming. He doesn't make me feel insecure or unworthy like Nate did sometimes. I felt like an absolute mess last night and he still said I was pretty."   
"Sounds amazing." Alex sighs happily. I can tell that he's happy for me and he really likes Niall. I smile to myself as the memories take over before an idea pops into my head. Shooting up out of my chair, I rush into the living room with Alex hot in my heels. I grab my guitar and look up at Alex with a huge grin as he pulls out a few sheets of staff paper and I know that he knows a song idea just popped into my head. I strum. Few chords until I find the right one and then I'm off, launching into the lyrics in my head quickly. Songwriting has always been something that came really easy for me, which, right now, I'm really thankful for.  
After about an hour of writing, guitar playing, and singing, along with three more cups of coffee, we've got probably the cutest song I've ever written. I'm so excited about recording it, absolutely dead set on putting it on the new album, so I pull out my phone and quickly dial Patrick’s number.   
"Hey, how's my favorite rock star?" He asks into the phone as he answers. Laughing, because the song I wrote is way less rock and a little bit country, I respond happily.   
"Great! Can you meet me and Alex at the studio? I've got this song I want to play for you." He agrees instantly and we make a plan to meet in an hour before hanging up. "I'm gonna go jump in the shower real quick and then we should get ready to leave and maybe grab some food on the way." I say to Alex, who nods. Today is going to be a great day, I can feel it.  
Niall's POV   
"Nialler, oh little baby Nialler." Louis voice calls out from the front hallway of my flat. I roll my eyes, refusing to move from my spot in from of the TV. If he wants to talk to me so damn badly, he can come find me. And that's exactly what he does, with Harry following close behind, looking a little sleepy eyed.   
"Top o the mornin, lads." I say as the sit down on the other couch across from me. Louis lets out a high pitched giggle like he always does when I say something stereotypically Irish. The lad is weird, that's for sure.   
"How was your date Ni Ni?" He asks me in his best girl voice, and I roll my eyes at him, but fail to contain the grin that quickly spreads across my face.   
"Definitely the best I've ever been on. She's beautiful and sweet and she let me kiss her even though I acted like a bloody idiot, ramblin on and on about how much I wanted to. And before you say anything, she didn't even think my date idea was lame like you said she would. So shut up you filthy twat." Harry laughs at my words, pointing a finger at Louis.   
"I told you! It was brilliant! Bloody freaking brilliant!" He chuckles. Louis pouts at both of us but we just laugh.   
"How was your night with Alex, Haz?" Harry smiles at the ground, cheeks turning bright pink.   
"It was quite lovely. We watched a film and cuddled. He's really sweet. We get on really well." He sounds so practiced in his words and I can tell there's more to it than that.   
"And......" I urge as Lou and I both look at him expectantly. He gulps and lets out a sigh before continuing.   
"I think..... I feel like I might.... Um.... Look I know it's really soon and all....." He stutters out before hesitating.   
"Haz, do you..... Are you in love with him? You can't..... You jut met him." Louis says, wide eyed. Harry lets out another sigh and looks up at me to help him.   
"Lou..... You knew you loved Eleanor when you barely knew her. Remember what you told us the day you two met?" I challenge Louis.    
"Yeah but I mean..... That's different right? El and I had known each other for weeks before I ever...."   
"Lou, you told me the day you me her that you were in love with her. Said it was love at first sight. I remember everything you said to me and that's how I feel. We spent all last night after the movie just talking. He told me all about his life, his friends and family and his feelings. I feel like I've known him for years now. He's smart and funny and completely out there and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. He just does what he wants and says how he feels. And he's so loyal. You should have heard him talk about Parker and his band mates. He's amazing. Maybe you're right, it's probably too soon for love, but he's just...... I don't get what he sees in me, if I'm being honest. He's beautiful and I'm just Harry." I roll my eyes at him. He's so insecure and I'm not quite sure why. Girls literally throw themselves at his feet and he still thinks he's ugly.   
"Hazza, if you say you love him, then I trust you. But he better not hurt ya mate. He'll regret it if he does." Harry smiles up at me happily and I can tell that Louis knows he lost this battle.    
"Come on lads." He sighs, shaking his head. "Let's get to the studio early and maybe we can sneak in and see what Parker's up to."  
Parker's POV   
"Alright take that 1st verse from the top one more time and I think we've got it, Parks." Patrick asks me as I set my guitar in the corner of the sound booth. We've been working on the song for about two hours and we're actually almost finished with vocals and all the guitar work is done so far. Once I get into a groove, it's usually pretty easy for me to get things in one take. Although, I know this is just a demo. Obviously the label has to be into it before we make all the final decisions and cuts.   
"Alright yeah just, let me grab a bottle of water real quick." I tell him as I make my way to the door and walk back out to where the sound booth is. "5 minutes OK?" I ask and he nods as I grab a water from the mini fridge and plop down on the couch next to Alex.   
"Sounds great kid." He tells me, tossing his arm lazily around my shoulder. I smile up at him happily, his opinion has always really meant a lot to me when it comes to my music.    
"Thanks dear." Pulling his face towards mine with both hands, I attack his cheek with sloppy kisses that ends with a long lick up the side, from jaw to hairline. He groans loudly and pushes me off of him as Patrick rolls his eyes and laughs quietly from his chair across from us.   
"You two are ridiculous, you know that?" He chuckles. I stick my tongue out at him while Alex pulls a face.   
"You love us and you know it." We all laugh, god I love these guys.   
"You knock!"   
"No you knock!"   
"Niall should knock!"   
"Why me?"   
"She's YOUR girlfriend!"   
"For the last time SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"   
"Aw baby Nialler's upset. Maybe we should get baby Nialler's wittle girlfriend to..... OW WHAT THE FUCK!" Alex, Patrick and I all stare at each other, confused by what we're hearing outside the door before I finally get up and pull it open. On the other side, Niall has Louis in a headlock while Harry is halfheartedly trying to pull him off. They all turn and look up at me with wide eyes when they see me standing in the doorway and Niall's cheeks quickly flush a bright pink as he lets go of his band mate. Unfortunately for him, Louis notices and doesn't miss the opportunity to tease him for it.   
"Awwwww wittle Ni Ni! Are you embarrassed? Yes you are! Yes you are embarrassed poor wittle Ni Ni." He coos as he pokes at Niall's adorable pink cheeks.    
"Lou leave him alone." Harry begs but Louis doesn't stop until Niall elbows him hard in the groin. At that, he falls to the floor groaning in pain and Niall shoots him a triumphant smirk before stepping over him and making his way into my studio. I can't help but giggle as I follow him back inside, Harry right behind me and Louis, rolling around on the floor in the hall. Those boys are really something else.   
"Who was that at the...... Oh hey boys!" Alex says brightly as his eyes land on The three boys. Louis finally crawls, yes crawls, into the room and leans up into the corner groaning as Harry sits on the couch next to Alex and Niall plants himself on the couches arm.   
"What's up guys?" I ask curiously as I run my fingers through my hair. It's a nervous habit I picked up from Jack.   
"We've got some recording to do in about an hour but we thought we'd stop by and see how the new song was coming." Harry says nonchalantly.   
"How did you know I wrote a new song." I ask before looking over at Alex, who's cheeks are a deep red. I roll my eyes, the boy is an absolute sucker for Harry and they've only been together for two days. It's obvious to me that Alex really really likes him. I've never seen him like this with anyone before, not even his ex Lisa and they had been together for years. "Why did I even bother to ask." I grumble at him as he shrugs apologetically. Harry rolls his eyes at us and kisses Alex on the cheek.   
"You guys are just in time then. She's about to head back in and do the first verse and then I can mix the demo real quick and......"   
"NO!" I shout, cutting into Patrick's offer. Hell no. No way no how! Everyone stares at me but I focus on Alex and try to have a conversation with him with my eyes. Usually he's pretty good at understanding those. I shoot him a wide-eyed-fuck-no-not-in-front-of-Niall-save-me look and realization dawns on his face. Unfortunately for me, he's so far gone in Harry, that he doesn't think before he speaks.   
"Oh yeah that'd be fucking awkward since she wrote the song for Ni....." I launch myself into the couch, sprawling across his lap and slap my hand over his mouth before he could say Niall's name, but its kind of obvious what he was going to say and I can tell they've all caught on even though no one says anything. Harry is trying to stifle his laughter behind his hand while Patrick and Louis are full on cracking up and Niall's face blushes a bright crimson color. I'm pretty sure mine matches.   
"Oh come on."   
"Don't be a wuss."   
"He deserves to hear it." They all tease and it honestly gets to be too much that I just give in.   
"Fuck it! Fine. Let me get my guitar and ill fucking play it for you, you sick bastards." I groan. I push myself up onto my feet, making sure to take the time to smash Alex's balls into the cushion of the couch just for a little bit of revenge and stomp into the booth to grab my guitar and the stool before settling down next to Patrick and plucking the strings. "I fuckin hate all of you." I grumble under my breath. I look up at Niall, he gives me an encouraging smile and I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding as I start to sing.   
"Today was a fairytale, you were the prince   
I used to be a damsel in distress   
You took me by the hand, and you picked me up at six   
Today was a fairytale, today was a fairytale   
Today was a fairytale, I wore a dress   
You wore a dark gray t-shirt   
You told me I was pretty when I looked like a mess   
Today was a fairytale   
Time slows down whenever you're around   
But can you feel this magic in the air?   
It must have been the way you kissed me   
Fell in love when I saw you standing there   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
Today was a fairytale   
You've got a smile that takes me to another planet   
Every move you make, everything you say is right   
Today was a fairytale   
Today was a fairytale   
All that I can say is now it's getting so much clearer   
Nothing made sense until the time I saw your face   
Today was a fairytale   
Time slows down whenever you're around   
Yeah yeah   
But can you feel this magic in the air?   
It must have been the way you kissed me   
Fell in love when I saw you standing there   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
Time slows down whenever you're around   
I can feel my heart, it's beating in my chest   
Did you feel it?   
I can't put this down   
But can you feel this magic in the air?   
It must have been the way you kissed me   
Fell in love when I saw you standing there   
It must have been the way   
But can you feel this magic in the air?   
It must have been the way you kissed me   
Fell in love when I saw you standing there   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
It must have been the way   
Today was a fairytale   
Today was a fairytale" No one says a word as I finish and I'm starting to get a little worried that it's awful, despite what Patrick and Alex both told me earlier. I keep my eyes trained on the floor because it makes the situation easier and it's so silent for a few minutes until...   
"Um," Alex starts, clearing his throat, "Haz? Coffee?" I don't hear Harry's answer but I'm assuming he agreed because the cushions on the couch shift and I hear footsteps walking towards the door. "Patrick, Louis, why don't you guys come with us?"   
"Yeah sounds good." Patrick agrees and I look up, finally, to see him standing up from his chair.   
"Nah I'm alright thanks." Louis protests but Patrick grabs him by the collar and yanks him out the door.   
"Come on kid." I look up at Niall, expecting to see something mocking in his eyes, but his face is completely taken over by a toothy grin and soft eyes. He pushes himself up off the arm of the couch and shuffles over to me awkwardly, almost unsure.   
"I'm going to kiss you again." He whispers and I barely have time to nod before my face his in his hands and his lips are pressing against mine, soft and sure. It only lasts a second, but it's enough to have my head spinning as a smile splits my face and we stare dazedly at each other for a few long, happy minutes before the door bursts open again. We both look up to see Alex standing there, biting his lip and looking nervous, phone in his hands.   
"Alex? What's wrong?" I ask cautiously but he doesn't answer, just shoves his iPhone towards me and I take it quickly, looking down at the screen.  
SPOTTED! Nathan Sykes at LAX  
The Wanted heartthrob was seen at the airport boarding a flight to London last night. Considering the rest of his band mates are still in town working on their new album, this leaves us wondering if Nathan is maybe visiting ex girlfriend and fellow pop superstar Parker York, who is currently in London recording the followup to her smash debut album, Never Back Down. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.   
My jaw drops as I finish reading the article. Nate is coming here? But why. Hopefully it's to see his family and has absolutely nothing to do with me. The last thing I want is for him to be back in my life, especially now that everything is going really well with Niall. I feel him tense beside me and I know that he just finished reading it too. He slips his hand in mine and gives it a light squeeze.  
"Shit." I whisper. My breathing starts to speed up and I can feel a panic attack coming on. Him texting and calling me is one thing, but actually seeing him, I'm not sure how to handle it. I know that he knows where I'm recording and we have the same management company, so it's not like he couldn't find me. I look up at Alex, who rushes for me and pulls me in his arms quickly to calm me down. I never told Alex about what happened between Nate and I, but he's not stupid. I'm 100% sure that he figured it out.  
"Shhh. Calm down, Parker. It's gonna be OK babe. Just breathe. Can you do that for me?" He asks. I try, I try really hard to listen to the sound of his voice and calm myself down but I just can't. My vision starts to get blurry and I’m starting to get light headed.   
"Parker." Niall whispers in my ear. He pulls me away from Alex gently and wraps his arms around me. "Everything will be alright, I promise." He runs his fingers through my hair as i bury my face in the crook of his neck. "I won't let him hurt you." I feel my heart rate start to slow and my breathing even out as I come back down. He presses his lips to my forehead and smiles down at me protectively. "Don't worry, love. I've got you." he whispers as he wipes the tears from my eyes.  
"Parker....." I look up to see Alex looking down at me expectantly. He wants an explanation, but I'm not sure I can give it to him. "Look, Parks, you don't have to tell us. You know that. If you don't want to, we'll drop it. But it might help if you told us about it. Or at least me."  
"But you can say no if you want, babe. We'll understand. And Niall, Lou and I will leave if you want us too. We won't be offended." Harry says quickly. I shake my head. Alex is right, it would be helpful to tell them all. There's really no point in telling any of them to leave because I know that Alex will just tell Harry later and Niall should know too, especially if things keep going the way they're going between us.  
"It's fine." I whisper, as Patrick walks back in.   
"Should I go?" He asks skeptically. I shake my head and take a seat on the stool, taking a deep breathe. Niall keeps a firm grip on my hand and I smile up at him appreciatively before launching into my story.  
"Look, I don't really want to get into all of the details, because frankly, it's really long and I just don't want to. Suffice it to say that our relationship was really great in the beginning and he was really sweet and he treated me really well, and then he started drinking and everything changed. He was always in and our of rehab and we were constantly fighting and breaking up and then getting back together. It was like this never ending cycle! And eventually it got violent. Every time it happened he went right back into rehab and then things would be great for a while. Honestly, if it weren't for Max, I'd probably be dead. He pulled Nate off of me the last time it happened. And that's when we broke up. That was two weeks before I moved out here. I haven't seen him or really talked to him since. We texted a few times during the first few days but it was just him being and ass or begging for me to come back so I stopped responding. I promised him that I wouldn't talk about it so he could keep his reputation and we agreed that we would tell everyone the break up was mutual and that we stayed friends even though I never wanted to see him again." I tell them. When I look up at Alex, his face is red and I've never seen him so angry. "Alex....."  
"You're fucking kidding me right now!" He yells. "Why didn't you fucking tell me? I swear to fucking God, if I see that bastard, I'll fucking kill him." Harry grabs him by the shoulders and faces him.  
"Alex, babe, calm down. He's not going to get near her again. For all we know, he could be in London for any number of reasons. Relax." He coos running his fingers through Alex's hair. I can see the anger leave his eyes when he looks at Harry and it makes me feel a little bit calmer too.  
"Um.... Parker, there's something else on here. I just found it. You might want to read this love." Louis hands me his phone and I read the new article.  
Nathan Sykes and Parker York getting back together?  
Rumor has it that Nathan Sykes DID in fact fly out to London to reunite with long time love and recent ex Parker York.   
"I've really missed her so yeah, I came to see her. Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll be back on." The singer is quoted as saying to a fan as he left Heathrow airport this morning. We wonder what Miss York thinks of that. 

"Oh are you fucking kidding me!" I yell, throwing my hands up in the air in defeat. "He's been texting me for fucking days trying to get me to talk to him! I should have known he would do this. This is ridiculous. He called me up the other night and left me this voice mail and he was all like 'I still love you.' and I was just like, I don't this is just fucking exhausting, you know? Like after what he did, we are NEVER getting back together. Like EVER!"  
"What?" Patrick says, looking up at me curiously. I've seen this look in his eyes before, I saw it the first time we wrote together, right after we met for the first time. I smile up at him and grab my guitar.  
"We are never ever ever getting back together." I sing as i strum out a tune. His eyes light up and he motions with his hands for me to keep going. "I remember when we broke up the first time. Saying this is it, I've had enough. cause like we hadn't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space. What? Then you come around again and say 'Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me.' Remember how that lasted for a day? I say I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you."  
"That was so awesome!" Niall shouts enthusiastically.  
"More awesome than the love song she wrote about you?" Louis teases. Niall and I both blush and giggle at each other as he pulls me into his arms.  
"Nothing is more awesome than that. Except maybe her."


	8. Thank's To You

Parker's POV  
“Thanks to you, I've lost my touch. I struggle to find the sense in making sense And giving a semblance of a fuck. And thanks to you, for all the nightmares. There's not a night that I sleep quiet and complacent without my medication. 'Cause there's this ringing in my head (who said it was gonna be easy?) As the ghost of you hangs over my bed .” I hear my phone ringing on my bedside table and I instantly know that it's Nate calling me. AGAIN. He won't stop and now I’m to the point where I really want to just answer it and tell him to leave me the fuck alone. Honestly it took me forever and a day to fall asleep last night and now he's waking me up at.... I look up at my alarm clock, and it's only 5 am. What the fuck, seriously. I grab my phone off the nightstand and sit up, pushing my hair out of my eyes. I hit the answer button and bring the phone to my ear.  
“What the fuck do you want!” I yell into the phone. He chuckles on the other end of the line and I want to punch him in the face so bad.  
“Nice to hear from you too doll. I was just calling to see if we could please talk.” he says, laughing. I huff out a sigh and flop back down on my pillow anger.  
“No as a matter of fact we can not 'please talk' so stop fucking calling me and texting me. You know perfectly well why I don't want to see you, Nate.” I growl into the phone. My door creaks open and I look up to see Harry, looking down at me curiously from the door frame. I hold up a finger to let hi know I'll only be a minute and then continue speaking to Nate. “Stop calling. Seriously, it's fucking annoying. Just leave me alone so I can move on with my life. I've already started and your impeding the process.” I say and then quickly hit end before tossing the phone back onto my nightstand.  
“Sorry to barge in. I heard you yelling and I wanted to make sure you were OK. Was that Nathan?” harry asks before I have a chance to say anything.  
“Yeah.” I whisper, nodding slightly. He makes his way towards my bed, sitting down next to me and running his fingers through my hair. It's something that I've noticed he does to Alex when he gets upset and I wonder if it's really just a habit by now.  
“What did he want?” he asks me quietly.  
“To see if we could talk. Like what the fuck is that? He knows the answer. I shouldn't have even answered the phone.” I huff. He rolls his eyes at me and lays down beside me, taking my hand in his and lacing his long fingers with mine. In the last few days I’ve known him, I’ve come to learn that Harry is probably one of the most affectionate people to walk the planet. He always has to be touching someone and when he cares about you, it's with his whole heart. He's a lot like Alex in that way, and we've managed to hit it off really well since the two of them have gotten together.  
“You're right, you probably shouldn't have. Why don't you just change your number or block his?” He asks curiously.  
“It's no use really. If he really wants to talk to me, he'll get it from someone or find a way to get a hold of me. Hopefully he'll just stop now that I've yelled at him properly.” I say. I scoot closer to him, leaning my head into his shoulder. “Harry, can I ask you something?”  
“Sure.”  
“Do you love Alex? I mean, look I know you two have only been together a few days, but like, I see the way you look at him. It's like he's the only person in the world.” I say. He sighs, and I almost feel like I said something wrong, but then I look at his face and he's smiling softly.  
“I don't know. I think I do. To be honest, I've never really felt this way about anyone before. Especially another boy. I do know that every time I'm with him, I feel like nothing can touch me. Like as long as he's in my arms or he's looking at me the way he does, nothing else matters. I used to be one of those people who really cared about what others thought. Like if someone told me that I couldn't sing or that I was ugly I really took it to heart. But Alex just makes me feel like.... Like it doesn't matter what all those other people say because HE loves it when I sing to him and HE thinks I'm gorgeous so why should I care if some random girl in Belgium doesn't feel the same.” he tells me honestly. I give his fingers a light squeeze and shoot him a smile.  
“He really cares about you you know. And I really think that, whether he realizes it or not, he's falling really hard for you. Just promise me you won't hurt him Haz. He's been hurt by so many people in his life and no matter how tough he acts or how much he says that things don't affect him, he's really just a sensitive little kid. The same little kid who lost his brother when he was 12. the same little kid who never felt good enough for anyone because his dad always told him he would never amount to anything. Promise me that you'll treat him right because he really is my best friend in the entire world. He means everything to me and I don't want to see him get hurt.” I beg him. He turns onto his side to face em and I do the same. Slowly, he lifts his hand that extending his pinky to me.  
“I, Harry Edward Styles, promise you that I will never ever ever in my life, cause Alexander William Gaskarth any pain, be it physical or emotional. I will never break his heart and will love him endlessly until the day I die.” he says, formally. I giggle quietly and reach up to link my pinky with his.  
“You fucking better you little twerp.” We both look up quickly, and see Alex, standing in the doorway looking close to tears. He bounds over to the bed and yanks Harry away from me and onto his feet.  
“You heard all that?” Harry whispers, nervously shifting from foot to foot. A light pink blush colors both of their cheeks and I can't help but let out a quiet 'awww' at the scene playing out in front of me.  
“Every. Fucking. Word.” Alex tells him. He wraps his arms around Harry, pulling him close and smashes their lips together in a passionate kiss before pulling away and resting his head in the crook of Harry's neck. “I love you, Styles.” he says softly, probably not intending for me to hear it.  
“I love you too, Gaskarth.” Harry whispers back, kissing the top of his head.  
“Awwwww you guys are just so darn cuuuuuute!” I squeal at them before hopping out of bed, despite the early hour and shitty start to my day, and making my way into the kitchen. “Don't fuck in my bed please!” I call out behind me as I walk down the hall and I hear Alex yell 'Dammit' at the top of his lungs before they both appear in the kitchen hand in hand.  
“Coffee?” Alex asks Harry and I and we both nod as Harry pulls open the door to the refrigerator.  
“Would you two like me to make you breakfast?” He asks.  
“Yes please!” Alex cries, kissing his boyfriends cheek.  
“It's a really good thing you can cook Haz, because Alex is really shit at it.” I tease, tugging lightly on Alex's hair. It's freshly dyed blue and it looks really goofy on him. It was Louis' idea, really and I don't know why any of us agreed, but we all thought it would be really funny since he used to have pink hair when All Time Low was on Warped Tour. Harry and Liam were the only two who were reluctant to let me do it. Liam, because he's so damn sensible and Harry because he apparently really likes Alex as a blonde. But Alex was all for it so I did it and it seemed like Harry really kind of enjoyed it.  
“Parker, I know it's early, but you should call Nialler and see if he wants some breakfast.” Harry suggests. I nod happily at the idea, and run back into my room to grab my phone, ignoring the four texts I have from Nate (Jesus really?) and dialing Niall's number.  
“Fuck off.” I hear his sleepy Irish voice call out into the phone when he answers. I giggle softly and roll my eyes.  
“Really Niall, is that any way to talk to someone who's about to invite you over for breakfast?” I ask sternly, trying not to laugh too much.  
“Parker?” He grumbles before letting out a loud yawn. “It's half 5 in the morning love. Too early. Goin back to sleep.”  
“Harry's cooking.”  
“I'll be there in five minutes.” he huffs quickly and then hangs up. I laugh softly, he's too freaking adorable, and slip my phone into the pocket of my sweats. “He'll be here in a few.” I tell the boys as I walk back into the kitchen and snag the fresh cup of coffee Alex just poured.  
“Hey!” he snaps, trying to steal it back away from me but I just turn away from him and take a sip before licking all the way around the rim of the mug. “I don't know why you think that's going to stop me. It's not like I haven't had my tongue in your mouth before.” Harry looks up at him questioningly. “Wow that sounded really wrong.....”  
“Haz, don't worry. We played a game of spin the bottle a few months ago. The ATL boys have really gross rules. Don't ever play with them.” I explain. Harry raises his eyebrow at Alex, but I can tell he's not actually mad.  
“Haz, no don't look at me like that. It was a one time thing and it was really gross...”  
“HEY!” I squeal. “I'm an excellent kisser, thank you very much.”  
“You know what I meant. You're like my sister. But, Harry, seriously, don't be mad, please, I love you. You're a much better kisser than she is....” Before he can finish his sentence Harry starts cracking up hysterically, pointing at Alex.  
“You thought... I was really..... Mad at you!” He coughs out between laughing. “Oh my god! Your face.” Alex stares at him like he's a mental patient for a second and I join in on Harry's laughter “You assholes! Both of you can fuck the fuck off.” Alex snaps, stomping through the kitchen and into the living room and tossing himself down on the couch. I roll my eyes at his tantrum just as someone knocks on the door.  
“I'll get it....” I call out in a singsong voice, not like I really think Alex is going to. He's useless when he's pouting because he's a big fucking baby. I run over to the door and yank it open to find Niall on the other side, eye's half closed. He's wearing sweatpants and the v-neck he was wearing when he took me out the other day along with a light gray hoodie and his hair is flat under the hood and hanging in his eyes. He looks gorgeously sleepy and my heart does a back flip the second I see him. “Hey.”  
“Mornin.” He grumbles sleepily as he follows me inside and to the kitchen. “Hey.” he says, reaching out and grabbing my hand. He pulls me back towards him, just outside the kitchen entrance and wraps his arms around me. His big blue eyes gaze down into my green ones as a slow, sleepy smile spreads across his face. “What ya got going on today?” he asks, yawning cutely.  
“I have a meeting with Scott at my management office this morning and recording for a little bit this afternoon, but nothing later tonight.” I tell him. He smiles down at me, all teeth and braces.  
“Fancy a movie night then? I'll order us some take away and we can watch whatever ya want.” he asks happily.  
“That sounds great.” I say with a nod. I like this, whatever it is. It's so easy with Niall. He's laid back like I am and he's a real sweetheart.  
“You lot better get in here. Breakfast is ready.” Harry calls out from the kitchen before Niall and I can say anything else to each other. Niall leans in and plants a kiss on my nose before untangling his body from mine and taking my hand, pulling me into the kitchen. Whatever harry made smells incredible and I can already tell that Alex, who is already sitting down at the table, has forgotten about being 'mad' at him.  
“I'm impressed Style's. Good with your mouth and a fucking awesome cook. You'll make a wonderful wife someday.” Alex teases Harry, ruffling his curls as he sits down. Harry's face turns bright pink and he shoots Alex a death glare.  
“You're an arse.” He mumbles under his breath. Niall and I both giggle silently too each other, rolling out eyes at our best friends.  
“You two just make the sweetest pair.” I coo at them, pinching Alex's cheeks and poking Harry on the nose. They're so adorable it hurts sometimes.  
“So, what's your meeting all about Parks?” Alex asks me as he bats my hand away from his face and shovels eggs into his mouth.  
“You're disgusting, you know.” I tell him with a laugh. “Um, I don't know actually. Scotty just texted me last night and said I needed to be at the management office at 7:30 for an emergency meeting. I'm actually a little worried to be honest.” I tell them all. Niall, who is seated right next to me, takes my hand in his and gives it a light squeeze.  
“Don't worry love. I'm sure it's just album stuff or something.” he says softly.  
“Isn't your management company the same as the Wan... OUCH! What the hell Alex!” I stare back and forth between the two boyfriends, curious as to what just happened.  
“Um..... What the fuck just happened.” I ask. Alex shoots Harry a look that I can't quite understand.  
“What? All I was saying was that she has the same management company as The Wanted.” Harry says, confused.  
“Ugh Styles!” Alex groans, face palming.  
“What?”  
“Alex, I'm not fifteen. I can hear his band name without getting emo and depressed you know. And yeah I do. That's how we met actually.” I say.  
“Um, Parker?”  
“Yeah Niall?”  
“It's quarter to seven.” I glance over at the clock on the microwave, there's no way it can be close to seven already. Sure enough, the clock reads 6:45.  
“FUCK!” I yell, jumping up from my seat at the table and running into my bedroom.  
“Parker! Don't swear!” Harry yells after me as Alex and Niall start laughing hysterically. I race around my bedroom, grabbing whatever clothes I can find that aren't dirty. I end up in Alex's 'Cancer is a DICK' shirt and a pair of torn up black skinny jeans. Which reminds me that I really need to go shopping, seeing as all of my jeans are pretty ripped up. Oh well, no time to think about that now. I skip the makeup and head into the bathroom to check and make sure my hair doesn't look too horrible. I'm pretty lucky, I guess, it's usually just wavy and looks cute. It's a little messy so I grab my gray beanie off the bathroom counter and pull it over my head.  
“Is it cold out?” I yell out to the boys. Not that any of us had been outside yet.  
“It's supposed to be.” Niall says, standing in the doorway to my bedroom. He slips his hoodie off and hands it to me. “Here.”  
“Aren't you going to be cold?” I ask but he quickly shakes his head.  
“I'm not too worried about it. It's not like I don't have others.” He says with a smile. I slip the hoodie on, his scent hitting me instantly. “You look cute.” he says softly as he takes a step closer to me. I can feel my face heating up and he chuckles softly at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me tightly to his chest.  
“As much as I hate to say this, I should really get going. I'm gonna be late as it is.” I tell him sadly after a minute or two of us just standing there. He buries his face in my hair and sighs deeply, before pulling away.  
“Text me later. The lads and I will be at the studio this afternoon if you get bored and want to come by. You can help me and Lou bug Liam while he records his solos and stuff.”  
“Yeah, OK.” I say, smiling up at him. He bites his lip before planting a soft kiss on my lips and following me out of the bedroom.  
“Hey, mind if I tag along, Parker? Haz has some stuff to do this morning and I don't really want to sit around your place by myself all day.” Alex asks me as he and Harry start loading the dirty dishes from breakfast into the dishwasher.  
“Yeah that's fine, just hurry up and get dressed OK. We have to leave like, right fucking now.” He nods at me, kissing Harry on the top of the head and making his way into the guest room, which has pretty much become his room, even though when Harry doesn't stay over (which has only happened once so far) he usually just sleeps in my room with me. That's not weird or anything. We just like to have sleepovers. We've always been like that. It comes with being super close. Thank god he does''t sleep naked anymore. That was really awkward.  
“Well, I guess we'll see you lot later. Good luck in your meeting Parker.” harry says as he and Niall make their way towards the door.  
“Bye guys.” I call out to them.  
“Bye love.” Niall responds softly, sending me a fond smile that makes my heart melt into a pathetic little puddle. That boy is totally going to be the death of me.

Niall's POV  
“You two seem cozy.” Harry teases as we head down the hall to my flat. I don't actually recall inviting him to follow, but he did just make breakfast for all of us and he and I have a radio interview with Grimmy in about an hour so I figure he might as well. We both need to shower and change, but it;s not like he doesn't have clothes at my place or anything.  
“And you and Alex are disgusting.” I tease back. A light pink blush stains his cheeks and I can't help but laugh a little bit at him. “But really, I like him. He's good for you. I'm glad you're happy.” I tell him honestly.  
“He's pretty great, isn’t he. He told me he loved me this morning.” He says. My eyes widen at his words. They've only been together for a few days. I know he said he felt that way, but Alex doesn't really seem like the type to get serious so fast. He's pretty laid back and out there. But it's nice to see Harry with someone like that. Most of the girls he's dated in the past have been really high maintenance, like Caroline and Emma. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're both great girls and stuff, but they just weren't right for Harry. He's so weird and funny and cheeky. He and Alex just fit together really well. Alex brings out his wild side and makes him seem a lot weirder than he was before. He's really similar to Louis, I guess. “You know, she really likes you. I can see it in the way she looks at you. Alex and I have talked about it a lot actually. She talks about you all the time. It's quite cute really. And Alex really likes you too. He likes the way you are with her. And I’ve never seen you look at a girl the way you look at her, not even Demi or Holly.”  
“Well, I really care about her ya know. She's...... different from any other girl I’ve ever met. With Demi, I really liked her at first, but like, when we met she was really sweet, but then she completely changed into this diva or whatever. And she was so against us going public with our relationship. But Parker..... she's so normal. I love that about her.” I tell him honestly. It's true, too. Yeah, she's famous, but she still acts like a teenage girl. She's real. The night we went out on out date, a few fans came up to us as I was walking her home and she blushed when they asked for her autograph and some pictures. And she just talked to them like they had all known each other for years. Whenever fans would come up to Demi, you could always tell that she was putting on an act. She'd get this big cheesy smile on her face and act like it was such a privilege to meet her. It always really bothered me.  
“Yeah, mate. She's lovely. I'm going to go take a shower, is that alright? We should probably leave here soon.” I nod to him, still pretty deep in my thoughts.  
“Yeah, yeah sure.”

Parker's POV  
“It's about time you got here.” Scott says to me as I pull open the door to the conference room at my management office. “Alex, wait outside.” he adds to Alex, who pouts at him for a second before turning around and heading to the waiting room. I look around the conference room to see about 15 people sitting around the table, most of whom I’ve never met. My eyes scan over all of the faces trying to place the people I have met before landing on the face I never wanted to see again. Nate. He's sitting at the end of the long table, a miserable look on his face.  
“What the actual fuck is he doing here?” I ask Scott, backing up and reaching for the door handle.  
“Parker, calm down. Just sit down and talk to us OK.” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He looks down at me apologetically and I know in that moment that he didn't know about this, whatever it is. He leads me over to two empty chairs half way down the table and we both sit down.  
“Miss York, lovely to see you.” The head of the company, James Palmer, says to me with a greedy smile. “We called you here today to discuss some plans to help with the promotion of both your album, as well as the Wanted's new album. We're all aware that you and Mr. Sykes ended your relationship a few weeks back, is that correct?”  
“Yeah. I'm not really seeing where this is going though. What do they have to do with MY album?” I ask curiously.  
“Well, I'm getting there. What we would like to see, is the two of you publicly restart your relationship, strictly for publicity purposes. You will...”  
“No fucking way. Not a chance!” I yell, jumping out of my chair. Scotty grabs my arm and pulls me back into my seat, shooting me a look to shut me up.  
“If you will please let me finish. You WILL attend and interview together stating that you have decided to get back together. You will be seen in public at least 3 to 4 times a week. The Wanted will be moved back to London to finish work on their new album, which I believe is almost complete. Mr Sykes will be moved into the same building in which you live to give the allusion that you two are living together and are serious about making your relationship work. This arrangement will go on until after your album is released.” Mr. Palmer explains. I look over at Scotty, my eyes pleading with him to take my side and he shakes his head sadly.  
“You can't do this. This isn't fair. Nate and I broke up for a reason. I'm not going to lie to my fans about our relationship, or in this case lack there of. And besides, I'm seeing someone. How am I supposed to explain this to Nia... uh... him?” I bite my lip, hoping they didn't notice that I almost said Niall's name. It's not that I don't really want people to know we're seeing each other, it's just that I’m not entirely sure where it's all going and I don't want to jinx it. An evil smirk crossed Mr. Palmer's face at my words.  
“Oh, we're well aware of your friendship with the One Direction boy. And you shall remain just friends until after your album is released. And then you are free to be with whomever you want.” he tells me.  
“But...”  
“Parker. Just leave it. There's nothing we can do about this. Trust me, I've tried.” Scotty says, taking my hand and squeezing it. I jump out of my chair and dash for the door, ripping it open and running towards the elevator. Tears are stinging my eyes and I can hear Alex and Scotty yelling after me but I won't stop. I can't. How am I supposed to tell Niall that we can't keep seeing each other? That I have to get back together with my ex boyfriend.  
“Parker..... What..... Happened......” Alex wheezes as he finally catches up to me before the elevator door can close.  
“They want me to get back together with Nate, Alex! I can't.... I don't..... I.....” The tears in my eyes finally start to spill out and Alex pulls me into his arms as I sob into his chest.  
“Parker... shh babe listen to me OK. Listen. Everything is gonna be OK babe. Everything is going to be fine. I promise we'll work all of this out.”

Niall's POV  
I haven't seen Parker all day. I had expected her to come over to our studio to hang out for a bit after her meeting, but she never showed up. Harry told me a little while ago that Alex had texted him and said that something happened in the meeting and she'd spent the whole rest of the day at home, but Alex wouldn't tell him what it was. So I spent the rest of the day distracted. All of my parts were flat or sharp but I don't really care. I was too worried about Parker to care. Which brings me to where I am now, standing at her door. I knock lightly, hoping she's still home. I want to see her, to spend time with her like we had planned. If she's upset like Alex said she is, I want to be the one to make her happy again. I hear the lock on the door click and then it swings open, revealing a really grumpy looking Alex.  
“What eh fuck.... Oh, um.... hey Niall. Uh...... Parker's not home right now and....”  
“Alex? Who is it?” Parker calls from the doorway to her bedroom. She walks out into the hall and my heart absolutely breaks when I see her tear stained face and red rimmed eyes. She's dressed in sweats and my hoodie with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. I rush over to her and wrap my arms around her.  
“Parker, what's wrong love?” she buries her face in my neck and sniffles before pulling back and looking up at me with big eyes.  
“I.... I have to tell you something.” she starts. My heart rate speeds up, what the hell could possibly be wrong. Everything was fine when I left this morning so I know I didn't do anything to upset her, at least, I hope I didn't. I can't think of anything I would have done. Maybe I came on a little too strong. Maybe she realized what an absolute twat I am and changed her mind about hanging out with me. “Um... can we sit down or something?” I nod and she takes my hand, pulling me into the living room. We both take a seat on the couch and she looks up at me sadly. “Look, um, I don't really know where all of this is going, you know we haven't, um, haven't actually talked about it, but I feel like there's something here, right? I'm not just imagining this?” I nod again, urging her to continue. “OK, look.... I had that meeting today and... um... Well my management company wants me to get back together with Nate, you know, for publicity or whatever. I don't want to do it. You know I don't want to right? Like, the last person I want to ever be with is him. And this just... it fucking sucks Niall because I really like you and whatever this thing is that we're doing, I don't know, I just... I don't want to lose this already. I don't want to lose you. But I have absolutely no choice in this. So I guess what I’m saying is, you know, if you don't want to like, talk to me anymore, I’ll understand. I wouldn't want to be involved in all this drama if I were you and...” I cut her off quickly after that, pressing my lips to hers and pulling her into my arms. Her body shook with sobs as she pulled away and cuddled into me.  
“We'll figure all this out, Parker. I like you too, I hope you know that. I won't give up on you just because you have to do this. I.... I really care about you a lot. And I’m going to be here to support you through all of this. I can promise you that.” I whisper into her ear, running my fingers up and down her spine. She sighs into my chest before looking up at me and I wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Come on.” I say, taking her hand and pulling her up from the couch.  
“Where are we going?” She asks curiously. I don’t answer, just smile at her and lead her out her door and over to my flat. I unlock the door and walk inside towards the living room. Motioning for her to sit on the couch, i make my way into my bedroom and grab some dad’s i have stashed in my dresser. They’re kind of embarrassing ones so I keep them hidden so no one with find them, but they always make me feel better when I’m down and I know for a fact that one in particular will lift her spirits. I walk back into the living room and head straight for the DVD player and pop the movie in before taking a seat next to her on the couch. it takes a minute for the movie to start but as soon as it does and she hears the opening notes to “Moon River” she’s smiling up at me happily.   
“I remember you saying once in an interview that Audrey Hepburn movies always made you feel better.” I explain. She kisses me on the cheek happily, before snuggling up into my chest and focusing on the movie. My heart rate speeds up rapidly at the feeling of having her so close to me. This is going to be so hard, what we’re about to go through. We can’t kiss or go out on dates or do any of those other cute coupley things I’ve been planning out in my head now. But I refuse to give up. We’re going to get through this together, no matter what.


End file.
